Why Cows Do What They Do

Here is the post from a N. Dakota blonde. Please keep in mind that it IS written by a blonde. I'm not sure if she had already had a glass of wine, or microbrew, or two before writing this, but it is funny. Mike Sledge

Ok...'bout them cows.....Hmmmm...now horses will stand side by side, head to tail to switch flys for each other....but cows...I did extensive research as I know, Michael, that you are only interested in the facts!! Here's what the experts had to say:Quote, originally posted by BHB » since cows are known for laying down when rain is approaching, i wonder if they dont also have some sense which tells them to face a certain direction into certain types of weather. ---Wind direction to keep bugs out of their eyes???? ---Lean into the wind, want to see/do what every one else it doing.---Facing the barn and grazing their way home?---Growing up on a cattle ranch I can assure there is nothing really to the direction they are standing. ---They could be grazing and working their way to the barns, or they too like to watch things and could be observing the cars that are passing. ---And for the record.... cows sleep laying down, so you can not tip a cow while they are sleeping AND OF COURSE A WEB SITE LINK:http://s-p-o-n-g-e.com/articles/article9.phpWhy do cows graze facing the same direction?By Historian Clineff "Why DO cows face the same direction while grazing." We began by studying the cows from behind as they graze. Trying to determine if perhaps they were staring at something close by. After being treated and released from the hospital, we discovered and published two very important observations.A grazing herd produces a large amount of Methane Gas. Never light a match behind a heard of grazing cows.We returned to the herd and remained careful to stay upwind. After four weeks of unsuccessfully trying to gain the cows trust, we had a break through. In her diary Ms. Goodall writes:"Success!!! I was finally able to infiltrate the herd and be accepted as one of their own. It was another disappointing day, I was making my way back to camp when I slipped and fell face first into a worm infested Pasture Patty. My stomach, associating the patty for the spaghetti I had earlier, began to expel the contents of said dinner. The cows in the area mistook my activity as my trying to "chew my cud" and seem to have accepted me as one of their own."This was the breakthrough we had been looking for. We were now able to mingle among the cows and observe their behavior closely. We were soon able to tell them apart and began naming them things like Bob, Jim, and Snookies. Our next big break came when we realized that, during the night, the cow we had named "Boy, he’s old, I wonder if he is going to die soon" was missing. We tagged the one we had named "He’ll be the next to go" and waited. The next morning he was gone. We turned on the tracker and, after a few days and a journey of over 500 miles, we followed it to a McDonalds. It was at this point we realized we were using the same tags the slaughterhouse used for choosing the next cow. With moral low, and the magazine pressuring us for results, we changed tags and attached one to the cow we named "No, that one over there." The next morning, the cow was gone. We turned on the tracker and began our final journey. After three days and two states, we were beginning to fear another visit to McDonalds, but then the tracker showed the cow had stopped moving. We turned down a dirt road and drove as far as we could. We had to go back to the last town we passed to get camping supplies, it looked like we were in for a long walk. After two days of climbing, we found ourselves deep in the uncharted mountain ranges of Kansas. After a hard day of hiking, we sat down to a meal of beef jerky and water, each lost in the despair of the seemingly hopeless quest upon which we had embarked. Fortunately for us this quest ended the next morning. We had just broken camp and had begun our trek westward. Jane slipped on a narrow ledge and, pulling me with her, we slide down the side of a steep hill and came to rest on the valley floor. We both stood, speechless at the sight before us. What we had taken for the whiteness of daisy petals was, in reality, the sun shining off the bleached bones of a billion dead cows. We had found it, the Graveyard of the Cows. And there, taking his last shuddering breath, was the cow we named "No, that one over there." Pulling out a map, we realized we had traveled in an exact straight line in the direction the grazing cows were looking. They were paying homage to the millions of cows who had gone on before them. After a night of feasting and passion, Jane and I began our return home secure in the knowledge we had finally solved that age-old question of the grazing cows. As you well know, Jane continued her career as a naturalist. My career was cut short when embarrassing photos came to light involving me and one of the cows. Dismissing my explanation of alcohol and mistaken identity, I was fired from How Now Cow and was unable to find work in the field ever again.